One step at a time

Pieces of art, including the depiction of a sculpture on the African-American Music Trail downtown, are used by at least one Kinston resident as an example of the work that still needs to be done to improve race relations in Kinston.

Zach Frailey / The Free Press

By Junious Smith III / Staff writer

Published: Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 06:40 PM.

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A new committee had its first meeting last month in an attempt to begin to settle human relations in Kinston and Lenoir County.

Laura Lee Sylvester, president of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce, said the Human Relations Council derived from the Lenoir 2020 program — created in 2012 — to help with issues in the area.

“During Lenoir 2020, we had several different speakers and a variety of different topics, including race relations, education, amenities and housing,” Sylvester said. “After we discussed and explored things, we decided the community needed to do something, but the chamber didn’t necessarily need to lead it. Now we have the Human Relations Council. People on the council gathered for the first meeting at (Kinston resident) Jack Harrell’s house and are planning to continue to meet on a regular basis.”

Harrell, vice president of diversity affairs at the chamber, said the human relations council had its first meeting in January and will use March’s meeting to create its organizational structure.

“Right now we’re not a public committee,” Harrell said. “Our next organizational meeting will help us decide on times, how frequently we’ll meet, who will serve where and what we can accomplish. After that, we’ll probably open it up to the public.”

Harrell said the goal of Lenoir 2020 was to make the city and county more attractive to outsiders, which would also help with human relations.

“Our premise is if we become a community that evidently cares about each other and provide a better quality of life for all citizens, it will encourage more business,” Harrell said. “As a community, we need to understand differences and respect them. I’m not naïve; we’re not going to have the same opinions, but there is a great benefit understanding and respecting differences between race, religion, gender, geographical status and other things.”

A new committee had its first meeting last month in an attempt to begin to settle human relations in Kinston and Lenoir County.

Laura Lee Sylvester, president of the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce, said the Human Relations Council derived from the Lenoir 2020 program — created in 2012 — to help with issues in the area.

“During Lenoir 2020, we had several different speakers and a variety of different topics, including race relations, education, amenities and housing,” Sylvester said. “After we discussed and explored things, we decided the community needed to do something, but the chamber didn’t necessarily need to lead it. Now we have the Human Relations Council. People on the council gathered for the first meeting at (Kinston resident) Jack Harrell’s house and are planning to continue to meet on a regular basis.”

Harrell, vice president of diversity affairs at the chamber, said the human relations council had its first meeting in January and will use March’s meeting to create its organizational structure.

“Right now we’re not a public committee,” Harrell said. “Our next organizational meeting will help us decide on times, how frequently we’ll meet, who will serve where and what we can accomplish. After that, we’ll probably open it up to the public.”

Harrell said the goal of Lenoir 2020 was to make the city and county more attractive to outsiders, which would also help with human relations.

“Our premise is if we become a community that evidently cares about each other and provide a better quality of life for all citizens, it will encourage more business,” Harrell said. “As a community, we need to understand differences and respect them. I’m not naïve; we’re not going to have the same opinions, but there is a great benefit understanding and respecting differences between race, religion, gender, geographical status and other things.”

Mayor Pro Tem Joe Tyson, who was a member of the steering committee, said he has seen a bit of progress, but more needs to be made.

“The purpose of the steering committee is to help establish human relations in the community,” Tyson said. “I think the city is more willing to work together in order for Kinston to be successful and the elected officials want to make it inclusive. Are we where we need to be? No. There’s always room for improvement.”

Tyson said the income levels of residents contribute to tension in the city. According to a report by City-Data, the 2011 median income in Kinston was $24,831, more than $19,000 below the state level.

“It goes back to my grandmother, who used to talk about the haves and the have-nots,” Tyson said. “Some people who aren’t working and feel down and out tend to blame those in better positions. Economic divide has a lot to do with human relations.”

Kinston resident David Bell said he hasn’t seen many changes and feels the city has taken a step backward with human relations, citing imagery around the city.

“Just by looking at public art around town you can see problems,” Bell said. “For example, on the side of Christopher’s restaurant, a place African-Americans frequent, you look on the side of the building and it’s an owned slave narration with an old lady picking cotton with her master standing around. Then, on Herritage Street, there’s a mural of an old black man looking like his back is hurting with his master looking like he’s giving him a basket of food.

“Then, some of the things engraved in the concrete of the African-American Music Trail represent slavery. There’s a statement which says ‘when we were in the field, we would strike up a tune.’ I understand that’s a part of history, but I want to see uplifting stories of music, not tunes of unhappiness.”

Bell said there hasn’t been a lot of progress on South Queen Street, which is home to a number of black-owned businesses.

“If you look at the history of the town, South Queen Street is pretty much a black business district, but not much has been done there,” Bell said. “Until people can identify with cognitive dissonance and realize power structure, there can’t be any progress. We can’t have human relations if you don’t believe in other humans. For example, Johnnie Lyles, who is a hero to me, has had his legacy methodically taken apart and he was trying to help blacks find financial empowerment before he passed away. I feel like some whites marginalize what blacks can do, or make them puppeteers perpetuating white supremacy. The power structure in place is not set up for equality.”

Christopher Maroules, the owner of Christopher’s Café, said he had no idea what was going to be painted on the side of the restaurant.

“About five years ago, the arts council asked for permission to paint on the wall,” Maroules said. “I didn’t know what it entailed, wasn’t around during the process and don’t know what it was supposed to signify.”

Maroules said he has seen some progress as far as human relations are concerned and does his best to treat customers fairly.

“Business is about 50-50 between blacks and whites and I think we do a pretty good job as far as being fair to everyone,” Maroules said. “In my opinion, I’ve seen more positives in relations than negatives over the past two or three years. Nine times out of 10, people look at the man’s character, not the color.”

Overall, Harrell said he believes the area seems to be progressing.

“We have amenities such as restaurants, the Farmer’s Market, Pride of Kinston and Sand in the Streets,” Harrell said. “There’s a lot of traffic on Saturday nights. It’s hard to quantify the improvement, but from a personal standpoint, I see a whole lot more involvement personally with human relations. We’re on the right track, but have a long way to go.”

Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.

Here is the ethnic breakdown of the population in Kinston from a 2012 report: